Home 'underperforms' for M&S as action plan takes force

High street retailer Marks and Spencer has revealed that growing its clothing and home sectors are its 'top priority' as sales deliver 'unsatisfactory' performance in its latest full-year results for 53 weeks ended 2 April 2016.

Highlighted within the group’s financial report, total group revenue was up 2.4% to £10.6bn, although pre-tax profits reported a huge drop by 18.5% to £488.8m. M&S said that its food business continued to grow, whereas its clothing and home categories suffered with an action plan underway to regain growth.

M&S stated that its plan to reinvigorate its clothing and home sectors included three initiatives - style authority, price position and the customer experience. M&S revealed that it would lower promotions and have fewer but better clearance sales in order to rebuild trust in its pricing stance, while enhancing its customer experience across all channels by delivering clearer ranges in order to make purchasing decisions simpler and quicker.

Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive, said: “Our results last year were mixed. We continued to outperform on Food but we underperformed on Clothing & Home sales. This is not satisfactory and today we are outlining our initial plans to address the issues and to position Marks & Spencer to deliver profitable sales growth.

“We are clear on the actions needed to recover and grow Clothing & Home, which is our top priority; to continue to grow our Food business; and to focus on driving profitability. We are investing to re-establish our price position by sharpening prices and to enhance service by putting more employees into our stores.

“These actions, combined with the difficult trading conditions, will have an adverse effect on profit in the short term. We are, however, confident that our commitment to delivering the right product, price and service will help return Clothing & Home sales to growth.”